Julius Caesar

Cheap way to get publicity: make something European set in Africa. Make as much controversy as possible.

And ironically, this ends up being kind of r@cist. Why not put some original content based on actual African history? That would be refreshing. Some nuanced story with different story structure than the usual Greco-Roman plays.

But no, let's rehash Julius Caesar one more time to save actual creative work.

BBC is just a shadow of its past.

I watched this mostly because I enjoy watching historical movies and on occasion a well produced Shakespeare play. When I read one of the reviews I felt compelled to watch it for myself and discover why this take on Julius Ceasar would raise such wrath.

It was an entertaining play performed by African actors whom I believe that William Shakespeare himself would have been pleased to watch. In theatre actors and playwrights have a degree of artistic liberty to give the play a personal touch. I remember watching Ralph Fiennes play Coriolanus in a modern day Rome, the magnificent and talented Ian McKellen play Richard III in an alternate Fascist England, or another great actor Anthony Hopkins who played Titus. Orson Wells is said to have done a Fascist version of Julius Ceaser in the 1930's, and who doesn't remember Leonard DiCaprio in modern-day Romeo and Juliet.

This version of Julius Ceaser has a rich and beautiful African resonance to it and I love it. What makes Shakespeare so great is you can take any one of his plays and place it in any era or culture and it will always long familiar. Shakespeare understood people and bravo to the actors who played this version so well.

Richly imagined, beautifully acted version of one of Shakespeare's great historical tragedies. I have seen many re-imaginings of the Bard's plays over the last several decades of my life, and found this one of the best I have had the privilege of seeing.

I am puzzled by the extremely low ratings of Julius Caesar (2012) here at imdb, especially since at kanopy the viewers have raved about it (also at Amazon, where it is available from Prime video). And justly so, in my opinion. Yes, Shakespeare appropriated stories about ancient Rome, so of course the question arises: who should play the roles, given that there are no ancient Romans around anymore?

In this production, the problem is solved by setting the entire play in a modern, post-colonial African country, with only black actors as the cast. Most of the acting was excellent and the scenes were somehow made to match the original text. I am impressed and encourage potential viewers to ignore the cranks.

This was beautifully well-done. Adapted for the screen, there are reminders throughout that you are watching what was originally a play. It could have been jarring, but instead I found it meaningful.

Paterson Joseph's emotional range gives so much depth to Brutus's internal conflict. Portia can very easily become "the hysterical woman," but Adjoa Andoh gave her strength and dignity amidst her frustration and despair. Giving the final scene with Brutus to Lucius, elevated their relationship to something very meaningful. Simon Manyonda won a much-deserved award for his role as Lucius.

I watched this twice, once before and after reading the book "The Racial Contract." It wasn't until the second time that I really began to understand the significance of Black actors speaking Shakespeare's words about what it means to be a citizen and free.